Sensemaking: mapping the terrain with one twist
Brian Arthur’s quote is a classic and I like the metaphor of sensemaking as mapping the terrain. I would add one twist which was introduced to me by Stuart Kauffman, the idea that the terrain is made of rubber and every step you and everyone else takes deforms the terrain in new ways. Sensemaking is therefore an ongoing process.
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Your observation reminds me of the ‘knowledge landscape’ metaphor, in particular where the landscape is heaving – “Wobblity” – like keeping balance on a waterbed.
http://www.cpsr.org/prevsite/conferences/pdc2000/Workshops/Mambrey.html